Following an ABC story over the weekend featuring the Invasive Species Council which highlighted the alarming threat of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain to our native animals – a threat that is wreaking havoc overseas – the federal government has today announced a $7 million preparation package.
In response, Invasive Species Council Advocacy Director Jack Gough said:
‘Australia is facing a potential wildlife massacre and we are not currently prepared.
‘This deadly H5 strain of bird flu could be equivalent to the black summer bushfires in terms of the scale of deaths of our native animals.
‘The announcement today is an encouraging sign that the federal biosecurity agency is recognising the urgency and the current lack of preparedness for this deadly disease. But time is running out.
‘The science tells us this virus is likely to arrive with the spring migration of shorebirds from the northern hemisphere in a few months’ time. When it does it could wipe out hundreds of thousands of native birds, tens of thousands of seals and other marine mammals and even lead to localised extinctions.
‘We understand that today’s announcement is not new money, but is a reprioritisation of some existing departmental resources to focus on this urgent threat.
‘As a first step this is very welcome but clearly more funding and focus is needed in the months ahead to reflect the seriousness of the threat.
‘We are particularly concerned at the lack of engagement from environment agencies around the country and are calling on Minister Plibersek to step up and make this issue a priority, given the scale of the threat to Australia’s wildlife.
‘It was a huge disappointment that this issue wasn’t even on the agenda of the recent meeting of all state and territory environment Ministers.’
Dr Carol Booth, Invasive Species Council Principal Policy Analyst, said:
‘Since arriving in South America in late 2022, bird flu has killed more than 30,000 South American sea lions, 17,000 southern elephant seal pups and unknown numbers of porpoises, dolphins and otters, as well as at least 650,000 native birds.
‘The mortality rate of elephant seal pups in Argentina’s Península Valdés reached 95% in 2023 compared to only 1% in 2022
‘If high pathogenicity bird flu turns up in Australia, the government-commissioned risk assessment predicts ‘catastrophic’ impacts on our native birds.
‘Although much work has been done by Wildlife Health Australia to prepare resources for decision-makers and wildlife managers, with mitigation toolboxes outlining response options, an effective response needs much more
‘This should include urgently developing template local preparedness and response plans and dedicated coordinators in each state and territory.
‘We also need a national taskforce to drive implementation and collaboration between governments and with key non-government response partners.
‘Implementation has been patchy on the critical recommendation by Wildlife Health Australia to develop site-specific and population-specific risk mitigation plans
‘The public should report any unusual bird deaths immediately by calling the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.’
The key elements of preparedness that the Invasive Species Council are keen to see progress on are:
- Urgently develop and disseminate template local/species preparedness and response plans which can be adapted for local circumstances (e.g. urban, remote and island sites, wetland/seabird colonies, marine mammal colonies). Funding may need to be provided for implementation of this at a local level.
- Development of national plans for monitoring, communications, threatened species and other issues for which it makes sense to take a national approach.
- Ensure H5N1 preparedness and response is a priority issue on the agenda for environment ministers and agriculture ministers to discuss ahead of the spring migration.
- Set agreed national milestones to meet in time for the spring migration, with national tracking and reporting on preparedness.
- Each state/territory government to appoint a dedicated bird flu coordinator for wildlife responses and allocate a preparedness budget. Where there is need, the federal government should provide funding to ensure this occurs.
- Establish a broader national taskforce with non-governmental input and greater participation of environment agencies.
- Scale up public communication, including working with non government partners to achieve this effectively.
- Undertake simulation exercises for the most difficult response scenarios.
- Address the difficult questions about effective responses such as carcass removal, measures to protect critically threatened species and when to prevent disturbance.
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Images of seals and sea birds available here.
Background:
New scientific paper – Massive outbreak of Influenza A H5N1 in elephant seals at Península Valdés, Argentina: increased evidence for mammal-to-mammal transmission:
- The paper shows strong evidence that a new clade of H5N1 avian influenza has evolved to spread between mammals, not just from birds to mammals.
- This has led to massive deaths of seals and sea lions in South America.
- This is the first strong evidence (genetic and epidemiological) of bird flu virus transmission between mammals.
- It appears that H5N1 jumped at least 3 times from wild birds to marine mammals on the Pacific coast of South America, and then evolved to spread between elephant seals. It may have then jumped back to birds.
- There are growing concerns that H5N1 viruses adapted to mammalian transmission could facilitate host-jumps to other species, including humans. So far, the risks to humans are regarded as low.
- An H5N1 strain from a human case in Chile (of the marine mammal clade) was shown to be transmissible between co-housed ferrets
- Details of loss of marine mammals in South America: >17,000 elephant seal pups (plus unknown number of adults) at just one Argentinian site. >30,000 sea lions in Peru and Chile plus dolphins, otters and over 650,000 seabirds.
Australian H5N1 bird flu risk assessment
- The Australian Government commissioned a risk assessment of High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza (HPAI) which was released in July 2023.
- The assessment found that the risk of ‘HPAI virus exposure and establishment in resident wild birds’ is ‘moderate/high’ and that the impact of this would be ‘catastrophic’, leading to an overall risk of ‘high’.
- Some key findings from this assessment include:
- Extrapolating from global outbreaks of HPAI H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, there are likely to be significant consequences associated with incursion and establishment of HPAI in Australia via wild birds given a moderate likelihood of incursions.
- The frequency of HPAI incursions into Australia via wild birds may be significantly lower compared with other continents and as a result, containment of outbreaks may be more achievable in the Australian context if they are identified early.
- Consequences to wild birds are assessed as CATASTROPHIC with moderate uncertainty, consequences to poultry are assessed as HIGH with moderate uncertainty and consequences to wild mammals are assessed as MINOR with moderate uncertainty.
- In multiple outbreaks the scale of mortality has been extremely high, often involving deaths of 100s, 1,000s or 10,000s of individuals with significant proportions of birds, resulting in mortality globally estimated to be in the millions.
- The Australian black swan has recently been determined to be highly susceptible.
Impacts overseas
- From Oct 2021-April 2023, more than 335 species of wild birds were impacted in 8,403 reported wild bird outbreaks globally.
- Since arriving in South America in late 2022, bird flu has killed more than 30,000 South American sea lions, 17,000 southern elephant seal pups and unknown numbers of porpoises, dolphins and otters, as well as at least 650,000 native birds.
- The mortality rate of elephant seal pups in Argentina’s Península Valdés reached 95% in 2023 compared to only 1% in 2022.
- Mass mortality events have been observed in penguins and skuas since bird flu arrived in Antarctica in early 2024. The virus arrived at the end of the breeding season for birds and mammals, so even greater impact is expected in the warmer months.
- In the UK, H5N1 has wiped out about 30% of the country’s breeding population of roseate terns, great skua and gannets.
- Since 2020, there have been outbreaks in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, South America and Antarctica – Australia remains the only continent free of high pathogenicity avian influenza.
- Humans and other mammals can become infected through contact with live or dead infected animals, or contaminated environments. Current strains of avian influenza do not appear to transmit between humans.
- Research shows removing and disposing of dead birds can help stop the spread
What to look out for
- The public should report any unusual bird deaths immediately by calling the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888.
- Wildlife Health Australia have produced detailed advice for people who encounter sick or dead wild birds.
- Look for:
- Small groups or clusters (5 or more) of sick or dead wild birds of any species.
- Individual or less than 5 sick or dead wild seabirds, waterbirds, shorebirds or birds of prey (e.g. eagles, hawks)
- Infected live birds may show a wide range of signs if they are sick, including:
- lack of coordination, tremors, swimming in circles
- twisted necks or other unusual posture
- inability to stand or fly
- diarrhoea
- difficulty breathing, coughing or sneezing
- swelling around the head, neck and eyes
- cloudiness or change in colour of the eyes.